Welcome to A2Z Homeschooling!

Homeschooling is more than just education at home. Homeschool parents, children, tutors, and anyone interested in learning online, a structured home classroom or unstructured unschooling will find A2Z Home's Cool an "cool" home school blog.

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Funderstanding
This company advises other companies about trends in children’s learning. They even have a website where they can “watch” kids try out new online programs. If you want to get an idea about how modern curriculum is created, this site can give you some eye openers!

A Textbook Example of What’s Wrong with Education
Every time a friend with kids in school tells me textbooks are too generic, I think back to that moment. “Who writes these things?” people ask me. I have to tell them, without a hint of irony, “No one.” It’s symptomatic of the whole muddled mess that is the $4.3 billion textbook business. By Tamim Ansary

Advice on Where to Purchase

Big Chains, Big Savings?
Okay, I’m biased. As a small independent bookseller, I don’t like what the big chains are doing to the bookselling business, but at least they save you money . . . don’t they? The Family Unschoolers Network.

Buying Used Curriculum
If you would like to know more “behind the scenes” of the homeschool authors and suppliers that are serving you and making these products available to you, there are three articles right here. By Barb Shelton.

Why Don’t You Discount?
If you find a company [or author ] you really believe in, a company that has ministered to you and met your needs, a company you think fills a unique “niche” in the home schooling market, a company you would like to see grow and flourish, then buy from them. By Chris and Ellyn Davis of The Elijah Company.

Assessment

Figuring out where your child is at helps avoid tears for starting too hard or boredom for starting too easy. It also helps you determine your child’s learning style.

Assets 4 Learning
Teach to your child’s strengths. He’s intelligent in his own way. She has a style of her own.

How To Create a Dynamic Learning Environment in Your Home
After nearly two years of reading, browsing through catalogs, cruising the web, and talking to many homeschoolers in search of the “right” curriculum, I have come to the conclusion that educating myself about teaching, the learning process, etc. is a higher priority than purchasing a curriculum package. By Susan Franklin.

Advice on What to Purchase

Words of advice from a wide variety of experienced homeschool parents.

Choosing Curriculum That’s Right for You
Common Sense Press takes a look a three methods of education. Their delightful “duck” lesson as approached by each method will help you understand which method you’d like for your family.

Conference Conundrum
AN A TO Z ARTICLE
One way to view curriculum before you buy is to attend a homeschooling conference, convention or curriculum fair.

Curriculum Wars
William and Tamara Eaton write from a Christian perspective, pointing out that just because a curriculum might be “Christian” it still might not fit the values and goals you have for your children.

So you’ve decided to homeschool
Karen Gibson reminds new homeschoolers to take it slow, to do your research. Note that Karen is from Alabama where one must have a cover school. This is not true in most other places.

Step 6: Managing Materials
As tempting as it is to jump right in and start scouring the suppliers’ catalogs, if you don’t know what you are looking for, you may never find it. Laying the groundwork for a curriculum search may take you more time now — but save you time and money later!

Things that will make me not buy a homeschool material
This isn’t a comprehensive list, I’m sure there are other things that would cause me to refuse to use a material/curriculum/sevice. These quickly came to mind, though. I did have specific materials or publishers in mind as I wrote much of this.

What curriculum should I choose?
The choice of a curriculum is based on your educational philosophy and the learning styles and developmental stages of each child.

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A2Z Homeschooling

A to Z Home's Cool, since 1997, has been the premiere destination site for those researching homeschooling, those who have decided to homeschool and are now looking for new homeschool groups and friends, as well as for families looking for free and low-cost educational materials for their children, homeschooled or not. Also known fondly as "A2Z Homeschool" we have been expanding into social networking and mobile sites. We are adding complete homeschool resources into our site for those who wish to pick and choose their homeschool curriculum freely. We are a religion-neutral homeschool site. We help you understand all the options available in the world of homeschooling.